Tag: ExpectingEVV

Hiring a Doula

We know that the decision to hire a doula can be a BIG one for many families. Maybe you’ve been thinking about it for a long time and trying to decide if adding a doula to your team is something you want to do. Maybe hiring a doula for your birth isn’t really that important to you, but planning to have help around the house and someone to ask all the questions postpartum would be nice. We know hiring a doula is a big investment, but we also know that doulas help not only improve outcomes, but also improve parental stress levels, mental health, & overall confidence.

How does it work?

We have 2 types of doulas on our team: Birth doulas & Postpartum doulas. (One of our doulas does both, for those families that want that continuity of care too.) Our manager, Hillary, talks to every person who inquires about doula services to see what they are looking for and match them with a doula on our team who will be a good fit for that family. She’s kind of like a doula match maker that way. The family then gets to interview the doula to decide if they’d like to work with that doula. Once you make the decision to hire your doula, then we send you a digital contract & invoice. You pay a deposit to reserve your time on your doula’s calendar, sign the contract, & then get access to our online client classroom filled with resources and information for you.

Every doula in the group is mentored by Hillary, who has been a doula here in Evansville, IN since 2014. She’s served at more than 200 births and has been invited to speak about doulas at both our local Evansville hospitals. At this point, she takes less clients so that she can run the business side of things for our group including all the emails, contracts, invoices, website, social media, bookkeeping, outreach, etc. Clients interact with her as the primary point of contact, but then move to interacting with their specific doula for birth and postpartum services.

Birth Doulas

8 birth doulas of Doula Group of Evansville

Our birth doulas are phenomenal! Their experience ranges from brand new to very experienced, and they set their own prices. Each and every birth doula client gets two prenatal meetings to get to know their doula, to talk about birth planning & logistics, to practice comfort techniques, & more. Birth doulas are there with you for the big birthing day to help with all the things like movement, deciding when to go to the hospital, handing you things you didn’t ask for yet, suggesting positions, offering information about options, and so much more. After baby is born, birth doulas typically stay for 1-2 hours to help with the initial feeding and bonding time before they skedaddle out of there to give you time alone as a family. Your birth doula will come visit you once more after baby is born to check on you, talk about how things went, and offer any resources that you might need at that time. We might even bring you a little present too. Hiring a doula means you not only have someone to text with random questions throughout your pregnancy, but you also have someone to walk with you for the journey from expecting to beginning. All of our birth doula clients will also be getting a postpartum planning session with one of our postpartum doulas.

Postpartum Doulas

Christina Renock postpartum doula, green leaf on white background, Kristyn Tromley Postpartum Doula

If everyone knew about postpartum doulas, then honestly EVERYONE would hire one! Postpartum doulas come for 3-4 hour daytime shifts to help you with light housework that might be piling up because you’re busy taking care of your new human. They answer questions without any judgement & help with resources if you’re concerned that something isn’t normal. They hold the baby while you shower and help with meal planning too. Postpartum doulas help the family as a whole to transition to having a new baby in the house, because postpartum can be challenging for everyone. So whether you would like an in-home postpartum massage, help with meal planning & grocery orders, someone to look at your surgical scar or help you off the couch, then one of our postpartum doulas would be happy to help. We currently have one postpartum doula who is also able to do overnight shifts for families that would like help throughout the night for feedings & baby care too, so feel free to inquire if that is something you are interested in learning more about. Postpartum doulas are a little big magic and also *ahem* one of the BEST gifts you can get for your friend who already has everything they need for baby and could just use some extra TLC in those first weeks at home.

Don’t Wait

If you’re thinking about hiring a doula, don’t wait! We have an awesome team that is pretty flexible in being able to accommodate all schedules, but sometimes we really do ALL get booked up. July-October are the most busy times of year for us, so definitely reach out early if your due date falls in that range. (In case you’re wondering, September is the most popular birth month in the United States for several reasons.) As I write this, it is June 2022, & we’ve started booking clients into February 2023 already!

Hiring a doula takes some courage, and we know that. We also know that hiring a doula can help the entire process of bringing a new baby into the world feel much more personal and cozy when you have a doula by your side. We’re here to help you navigate it all like a tour guide who’s been down this path many times before. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in exploring, then hiring a doula might be right for you. Reach out to us if you’re interested. You can even see some great videos of our doulas on our YouTube channel before you reach out too!

AND, if hiring a doula isn’t in your comfort zone, we really do try to put out a lot of FREE content on our Instagram & Facebook pages too. Find us there! We have a FREE e-book available here on our website, as well as lots of free blog posts, including this perennial favorite about how to have a good conversation about induction with your provider. Oh yeah, and we do placenta encapsulation too if that is something you want to explore. We want to be a one stop shop for helping expecting families in the tri-state area.

FREE Online Class 2/28/22

I’ve learned a few things that I want you to know!

In 2014 I became a birth doula, and I’ve since attended more than 200 births at 7 different hospitals in this area. I’ve attended home births where the baby showed up before the midwife, planned cesarean births in the OR, amazing VBACs with (and without epidurals), and soo many variations between. I’ve learned some things that can be helpful for you to know, & I want to share them with you!

Hillary Melchiors DoulasEVV Evansville Doula Newburgh
Hillary Melchiors PhD, MPH, LCCE, CD(DONA)

My name is Hillary. I have a whole lot of letters after my name, but I’m really the most proud of all the families that I’ve had the privilege to serve in my capacity as a birth doula. I’m the manager here at Doula Group of Evansville too, which is honestly so much fun!

In this online class, you’ll learn about different local birthing locations and what tools they have to help you during labor and delivery. Do you know which providers share call with each other and who else might be there helping at your delivery? What are the differences between locations for birth and postpartum? What about your rights as a patient? What does informed consent look like and how can you advocate for yourself? This class will also go over routine care and how to ask great questions to get the care you need.

One thing I want you to know even if you don’t come to the class: YOU are the boss! You make the calls when it comes to your care and consent is an on-going process. Nobody should do anything to your body or baby without your express enthusiastic consent. If rights are something you are really interested in learning more about, you should check out this class by Birth Monopoly. I’ve taken it and definitely learned so much helpful information as a birth worker:

DoulasEVV Evansville Doula Newburgh

I hope to see you on Monday 2/28/22 for this class, but if you can’t make it, don’t despair! I will be recording the class & it will be free to watch for anyone who signed up before the recording. I want this information out in the world to benefit our local birthing parents. I want everyone to know all their options and how they compare. I want everyone to know their rights as patients & have great conversations with their provider. This class is a step in that direction, & I hope you’ll join me.

Exciting Additions!

Adding value to your experience is what doulas do, and in 2022 we are expanding to help our clients even more. We’re excited about a couple of additions to our birth doula package that we really think are going to be helpful for our clients. These are of course in addition to what was already included, and partly to fill in some gaps that will help us serve you better too.

First, we have added a client workbook! We purchased a beautifully designed workbook from our doula friend Victoria Wilson at Mother Well Doula, because we honestly love what she put in there. This workbook will help our clients throughout their pregnancy with excellent advice, and will help your birth doula know how you’d like to be supported. I was especially excited that Victoria quoted a very famous medical anthropology study in the workbook! I added a few little touches to the workbook to make it more our style, but I promise you are going to love these 42 pages of ideas, questions, & activities that will get you thinking and talking about your birth.

Cover of our birth doula client workbook

The other exciting additions we have added to our birth doula packages come from another doula and childbirth educator friend: Alice Turner! All of our 2022 doula packages now include 2 online courses created by Alice: Supporting Her & Birth Tool Box! These two classes would be $78 to purchase on their own, and they are now included for all our birth doula clients. We know that a quality childbirth education course can help clients feel prepared for pregnancy, labor, delivery, & postpartum too. Birth Tool Box is a full evidence-based online childbirth education class that is ready to watch whenever you have time! We’ve also seen some pretty amazing partners who would really like to learn specifically how to be more supportive for labor and delivery. The Supporting Her online class will help them learn all kinds of techniques and tips for helping on the big day.

FREE Access for Doula Group of Evansville Birth Doula Clients ($78 value)

The Doula Group of Evansville 2022 Birth Doula Package includes:

  • FREE interview to choose your birth doula
  • 2 prenatal meetings with your chosen birth doula
  • Unlimited support via phone, text, email
  • Online client resource classroom
  • Birth Doula Workbook
  • FREE access to Birth Tool Box & Supporting Her
  • 1 meeting with a postpartum doula
  • In-person birth doula support for labor and delivery
  • 1 postpartum visit from your birth doula

We’re so excited to be able to keep expanding our offerings to help birthing families here in the tri-state area. We attend births at 7 local hospitals and work as a team to make sure that you will always have a qualified and approved birth doula to support you at your birth. We would LOVE to talk to you about how a birth doula can support your family as you journey from expecting to beginning.

More exciting news about our group coming soon!

Welcome Heather Spain: Birth & Postpartum Doula

One of the most sought after doulas in Southern Indiana has joined the Doula Group of Evansville team!

Heather is a modest and quiet person until you get to know her a little better. She is a highly intelligent and compassionate doula who knows her stuff because of her professional and personal experience. She is gentle and kind, but isn’t afraid to tell it like it is when that is what is needed in the moment. Heather has been a doula friend of mine for years, and I am honestly honored that she has chosen to join our team here at Doula Group of Evansville. I have had the chance to trust my clients to Heather before as a back-up doula, and now I get to help her find her own clients too!

Doula Heather Spain

Her Experience:

Heather has extensive doula experience both at hospital and home births. She is a highly skilled and trained doula who takes her role very seriously, but knows how to laugh at just the right times too. As a mom of 4, twins sandwiched between 2 singletons, Heather brings a TON of personal experience to the job as well. She’s had to juggle all the things, and she’s looking forward to helping all types of families learn to do the same from pregnancy announcement and into the 4th trimester. Heather is a former board member of our local Moms of Multiples group and fervent reader of all things lactation. She brings her knowledge and fantastic giggle to every interaction you have with her, and her organization skills are legendary. Heather is also an experienced placenta encapsulator, and will be tackling that role for us as well!

Heather Spain, DoulasEVV Evansville Doula Newburgh

About herself:

“I have been a DONA trained birth doula since 2017 and have worked in many capacities within the birthing community. I was raised in Evansville, where I still live with my husband of 11 year and our four amazing children. Their unique births sparked my passion for working with birthing people and their families in all stages of their journey.”

See, I told you she’s modest! I would thoroughly embarrass her if I wrote all the amazing things I think about her here. Please suffice it to say that Heather is a one of a kind dynamite doula who knows her stuff!

Availability

Heather is available to start taking clients as early as mid-September for both birth and postpartum. That continuity of care from 1st trimester through 4th trimester is one of the greatest parts of Heather being able to do both birth and postpartum work! Want to meet Heather to see if she’s the right one to help you welcome your new little(s) into the world? Contact us today: doulagroupofevansville@gmail.com or 812-250-9590.

Common Lies Told to Pregnant People

These are 5 of the most common lies told to pregnant people & the evidence that proves them to be false.

Lie (noun): a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.

Deceit (noun): the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid

1. Ultrasound is always accurate for predicting baby’s weight.

2. Induction doesn’t increase your risk of needing cesarean surgery.

This one REALLY depends on your provider sooo much. Most are using the ARRIVE trial to justify recommending induction of labor for everyone at 39 weeks saying that it decreases the need for cesarean surgery, even though there are lots of other interventions (such as having a doula) that are even more effective and a better use of resources. Both ACOG & ACNM have come out saying that this is NOT how this study should be used (hello confirmation bias), and we have multiple studies saying that induction actually increases the risk of needing cesarean surgery, including this study published in 2021.

Please note, we know that waiting for labor to begin on its own has lots of benefits, but sometimes induction is absolutely the right choice. We just want you to have an open and HONEST conversation with your provider about it!

3. Oxytocin is the same as pitocin (syntocinon).

4. Pushing on your back is best.

5. Breastfeeding is always easy.

NO it really isn’t easy, just because “it’s natural.” We have to stop telling people it is.

If you are struggling with breastfeeding, we would be happy to help you find the local help you might need or want. We’ve been there from cranio-sacral therapists to tongue-tie evaluations to IBCLCs to SNS octopus feedings and beyond. We’d also love to talk to you about the proper preparation of infant formula if that is something your family has decided to use sometimes or even all the time.

In Conclusion

We like to follow the evidence. We come to our clients without agenda to give them the best information available. We don’t appreciate these all too common lies told to pregnant people. We want to help families make the best decisions for themselves based on their individual circumstances, desires, fears, and needs while taking all the science into consideration. We’re even happy to talk to you about which providers might be a good fit for you based on our experiences.

Did any of these lies surprise you? Hop on our Instagram & tell us about it!

Welcome Tamika Wilson!!!

Here we grow again!!

It is with great joy that we announce the arrival of a fabulous new doula to our team: Tamika Wilson!! I have talked for years with Tamika about becoming a doula, and 2021 was the year that she was finally able to attend a DONA birth doula training. Tamika has personal and professional knowledge that she is sure to wow her birth doula clients with at every turn, and we are honestly honored that she has chosen to be part of Doula Group of Evansville.

In Her Own Words:

“I was born and raised in Birmingham, Al. but currently reside in Newburgh, In. with my husband of 15 years and 4 beautiful kids. I am a military spouse and also have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s of Science in Management. I am a DONA trained birth doula currently working towards my certification but I come with tons of personal experience in the birthing world. Since moving to Southern Indiana I noticed a huge gap in representation for low income women and women of color, this drove my passion to pursue birth work. Being a birth doula has given me the opportunity to better serve my community, become an advocate for all women but particularly women of color, and help educate mothers on all of their birthing options. Few Things About Me: My favorite color is blue, I’ve always found blue to be a very calming color. My favorite food is basically any type of southern cuisine, Although we have made roots in the Midwest I will forever be a southern girl at heart.  In my free time you can usually find me Uber-ing my 4 kids around town going from [insert sport of the season] to cheer competitions, or just hanging out with my family.”

Special Offer for New Clients

Tamika is fresh out of training & looking forward to serving clients! For her first 3 birth doula clients, she is offering a 50% discount off of her services. These clients will pay only $450 for 2 prenatal visits with Tamika, unlimited contact during their pregnancy, in-person support for labor & delivery, and one postpartum visit. Don’t delay, because honestly once the word gets out about how amazing Tamika is, she’s sure to be booked solid!

Online Prenatal Yoga with Mandy Rodenberg

Mandy Rodenberg now has her prenatal yoga classes online in a FREE YouTube channel.

So many in-person events have been cancelled during this pandemic, and prenatal yoga has unfortunately been one of them for safety concerns. Mandy Rodenberg turned that lemon into some great lemonade by recording her yoga classes for students to watch and move along with her for FREE on YouTube! The first time I met Mandy, I felt and instant connection with her, and I am certainly not alone. I have had so many clients tell me that her soothing calm voice helped them during their pregnancy, and her prenatal yoga classes are an amazing chance for them to connect with their bodies and their babies. Mandy is a gifted yoga instructor, and all around fantastic human. Mandy let me ask her a few questions, and I think you can see from her answers why so many people love her.

Q & A:

Doula Group of Evansville: Why are you passionate about the restorative and healing properties of yoga practice, especially for the perinatal period?

Mandy: During my 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2009, we were asked to write a paper on ways yoga benefits and heals the body from injury. My teacher at the time allowed me to instead write about how yoga movements ease a mother throughout pregnancy and childbirth. My research solidified my passion for helping bring yoga together with the most life changing and amazing experience a woman will go through. Prenatal yoga will help moms start to understand the connection of mind and body and how and what movements make her body feel safe and nurtured and comfortable. She can use these tools to breath through a tough labor or even preparation for caesarian. She will learn to mother herself.

Doula Group of Evansville: What special training have you taken for prenatal yoga instruction & why is that important?

Mandy: I completed my 200 hour teaching certification in 2010 here in Evansville with Chris Crews as my teacher. Before I was even pregnant, I participated in a prenatal yoga class with another local teacher, Leslie Ward. I began teaching prenatal yoga in 2011, 6 months after giving birth to my daughter. In 2015, when I traveled to visit friends in Denver, Colorado I completed my Prenatal Yoga Certification at Belly Bliss Yoga. The training empowered me to focus on what pregnant mothers CAN do, instead of focusing on what they can’t. The teachers covered more that just the basics of yoga. One taught us about birth trauma and how to listen without taking on the emotions, but witnessing them for her. One afternoon class was all about the benefits of doulas and they put us through a simulation to help us to better understand the empowerment a doula gives the mom. The training was so much more than I expected. Truly though, my best teachers are my pregnant moms. By them reaching out to me, letting me know their own struggles and discomforts, I am able to be a better teacher. I usually teach live classes in 6 week sessions, and no two have been the same in all 5 years. I did also have the pleasure of teaching while I was pregnant with my second child, that was the best.

Mandy Rodenberg DoulasEVV Evansville Doula Newburgh
Mandy Rodenberg, prenatal yoga expert

Doula Group of Evansville: What sparked your interest in creating a YouTube channel to house such awesome resources?

Mandy: My husband, Andrew, and I both teach yoga at several locations here in Evansville. We were both home during the shut down in March and were wondering how we could continue to stay connected to our clients. We decided to try making videos that we could make available to everyone. We have resumed some in-person classes this past summer, but we have some clients that don’t feel safe returning to class. With our videos we hope to stay connected to our clients in hopes they do return to class when they feel safe. My prenatal yoga classes at Deaconess Women’s Hospital have not yet resumed since the shut down. The need to limit the number of people coming into the hospital is paramount to the safety of moms and babies, so all classes have been canceled for the time being. This year has been so stressful for everyone, I knew pregnant moms would need yoga and relaxation now more than ever.

Doula Group of Evansville: How did your own pregnancies, births, and postpartum experience influence your yoga practice?

Mandy: I am an anxious person, and had no idea until my first yoga class. I sat on my mat with my legs crossed and the instructor said to quiet your mind and focus on my breath. I had no idea that I was thinking all of the time. I still struggle with it. That was my biggest challenge with the birth of my first child, just trying to fully relax, to give in. I was fortunate to have great birth experiences with the support of my husband though. My pregnancies were both pretty blissful. I walked 3 miles nearly everyday and practiced my yoga, more so with my first pregnancy for obvious reasons. My second pregnancy I had the wonderful opportunity to teach prenatal yoga to a lovely group of mommas. I loved how we all mothered and supported each other. They would call me afterward to talk about their birth and give me support for my big day, which by the way I was still nervous about even though it was my second birth. My experiences guided me to form a style of yoga that simply focused on learning how to make your own body feel better through movement and relaxation. Sure my practice builds strength and flexibility too, but listening to your own body’s cues is what will help you through your toughest moments in labor, birth, and even motherhood. Yoga has helped me in every aspect of my life, but especially for motherhood. The postpartum period, or fourth trimester was really challenging for me. I realized that I just couldn’t do everything I could before. I think of my yoga practice the same way. I do what I can and when I can’t always roll out my mat, I try to be kind to myself about it. It’s hard. We moms have so much on our plate. I try to live my yoga, by breathing at traffic lights, watching my children play, enjoying nature, and trying to be in this moment.

Mandy Rodenberg Evansville prenatal yoga youtube

Doula Group of Evansville: What is your favorite way to connect with clients in a virtual space?

Mandy: I have so far had most of my connections with clients through facebook messenger and posts. It warms my heart to have someone describe to me how they benefited from one of my classes. Comments help me to understand my audience’s needs. You can always click on the like button at the bottom of the screen and subscribe to my channel. Likes show me the most popular videos, and I can make more like them. You can leave me more personalized feedback in the comment section below on each video. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for this opportunity, Hillary to connect with moms. Ladies, you are in good hands with The Doula Group!

Prenatal Yoga Benefits

According to the Mayo Clinic, Prenatal Yoga has the following benefits to practitioners:

  • improved sleep
  • reduced stresss and anxiety
  • increased strength, flexibility, & endurance of muscles needed for childbirth
  • decreased lower back pain, nausea, headaches, and shortness of breath

Online learning is so quickly becoming the norm, even for childbirth classes. We are looking forward to a time when we can meet in person, but for now, online learning is where it is. We know that you will find Mandy’s YouTube channel a great stand-in until she can resume teaching in-person prenatal yoga classes. Have you tried prenatal yoga?